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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $375.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

Built , overall good sharpness , effective OS

Cons:

Inconsistence in sharpness , prone to veiling flare , heavy

This is a nice lens . It's very sharp from 18mm-75mm with very low distortion. From 75 it is a bit soft at the corners but still sharp in center . at about 100mm it's soft again getting sharp by 135mm and at 200mm it's quite good for an inexpensive lens. It's built is remarkable for a lens at this price. OS system is very effective giving me about 2 or 3 stops .Colors are a bit warmish but that is very subjective in nature. This lens in some quarters have recieved a bad rap but I believe it's because of faulty quality control . Those that come out good are much more then good. I recommend this lens given the caveat that you buy from a reputable dealer that's willing to exchange the lens for another one . It's a very good walk around lens.

koolou

Registered: May 2010Posts: 1

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by koolou

Review Date: 5/6/2010

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $369.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Very reasonable cost

Cons:

None

I have never had a Sigma lens before for any of my previous DSLR's but decided to purchase this Sigma 18-200 for it's large zoom (11.1X) and also its large filter size(72mm)
Having optical stabilization was another factor in my buying this lens.
I have been very satisfied in the pictures I took with this lens which have been mostly landscape that have shown very sharp detail.

steve_h

Registered: May 2008Posts: 1

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by steve_h

Review Date: 5/27/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $450.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

OS, wide range zoom, low cost, small size, good build

Cons:

Corner softness

I had a non OS Sigma 18-200 and it was a nice little walk around lens. Took very nice shots with my Canon XTi. I upgraded to the OS version to get the OS function. It seems to work well – probably provides me with 2-3 stops performance and saves a lot of shots for me in less than bright light. Focus is fast / accurate and the operation is quiet.

I did notice that in all focal lengths the center sharpness and contrast was better than my non OS version (I did many comparison shots on a tripod), but that at many focal lengths the corners have more blur than the non OS version (Upper right being the worst by far and lower left being slightly worse than the other corners).

Since most of my shots are landscape in nature with a stronger ‘central interest point’ it really doesn’t show up too much in real life looking at prints – only when pixel peeping can it be seen (for instance in tree leaves at the edges of the frame).

I rarely work wide open except when I want minimum Depth of Field and usually work at f8 to f11.

The lens is quite sharp and does a good job with larger flowers in close up work – it has acceptably good close focus range for a walk around lens.

All in all I like the lens and find that its reach is very good – about 29 to 320 mm / 35 mm equiv on my Canon XTi. If it needs to be super sharp anywhere it’s at the long end and the lens performs well there.

If the corners were sharper then I would have rated the image quality higher since the center is very good.

I would buy it again.

spuelijah

Registered: December 2006Posts: 9

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by spuelijah

Review Date: 5/7/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $450.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

nice finish & build, 72mm thread

Cons:

auto-focus hunts in low light & makes a buzz sound, f/6.3

This is my fourth Sigma lens. I also own a 30mm f/1.4 and the 10-20mm, but I sold a 150mm f/2.8 macro. I've had three Nikons as well, but they've all been sold.

Although this one is not an EX lens like the others, the quality is nearly as good. Some people don't like the matte, speckle finish of Sigma lenses, but I prefer it.

For the price this lens is hard to be beat. Last I checked online pricing, it was $250 less than the Nikon 18-200mm VR and $100 less than the new Tamron 28-300mm VC. Sharpness is very good and better than the Nikon as reviewed by pophoto.com.

Luckily Sigma incorporates their HSM technology for the Nikon versions, but sadly it isn't nearly as good as Nikon's SWM techology. Focus had to hunt in low light, and it made an annoying buzzing sound when the auto-focus was engaging. But the results are worth it. I can shoot still objects indoors as low as 1/5 of a second and get sharp photos.

trentdp

Registered: September 2006Posts: 26

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by trentdp

Review Date: 1/12/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $429.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Excellent vacation lens

Cons:

None I can personally attest to

I use this lens on my Canon 40D in the same way I use the Nikon 18-200VR on my Nikon D200. It is a great all in one lens when you only want to have one lens on your camera for your outing.

It is suggested that any interested potential purchaser of this lens navigate to the following link for a very good and accurate assessment of this lens. I based my purchase on this assessment and do not regret my decision at all.

This is a very good lens for it's intended use. It is not excellent in any given category but when you evaluate the entire package, it has no peers in the Canon stable or from other 3rd party providers.

There may have been some early release problems, but for the most part I believe Sigma has stepped up to the bar and corrected the initial problems with this lens.

I highly recommend it to someone who wants a great "vacation lens" for use on canon products.

orion

Registered: December 2007Posts: 1

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by orion

Review Date: 12/22/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $510.00| Rating: 10

I originally had the non-OS version and did not intend to buy the OS version assuming that the overall quality would be about the same except for the OS, which I thought I could live without.

However, when I saw the first samples posted by a user, I was near convinced and after I bought the lens and tried it out for a couple of days, I knew I had not made a mistake.

What struck from the samples were the superb performance of the OS and the fantastic zoom range with two shots he took (while in a moving bus) from 18mm to 200mm close-up with both very sharp.

Most of my photography is done on the move, indoors and outdoors, at close quarters and then zooming out to capture something in the distance. With the OS, let's say, of 100 blurred shots caused by hand shake, this number has now been reduced to 10 or even less.

My use of flash has dropped too and now instead of 800 or 1600 ISO, I can get good, sharp shots at 400 ISO indoors using natural lighting. I have been successful as low as 1/4 second at 200mm though the success rate is somewhere around 30% to 40%.

In the 5 months that I have used the Sigma, I have never had any problems with colour rendition from this lens and most times, they are clear and vibrant, particularly if I take off the UV filter and just rely on the lens hood for added protection.

I have never used any L lenses and my experience is limited to the original kit lens, the Sigma 28-200, 18-200 and then the Canon 50mm f1.8 II. The Sigma 18-200 OS outperforms the first three of these for focusing speed, accuracy, image quality and, of course, low shutter-speed photography with its excellent OS. It matches the Canon 50mm f1.8 II near the center but, of course, not near the edges or for distortion. It's focus is quieter than the Canon 50mm f1.8, faster and more accurate. I have had many more out-of-focus shots with the Canon 50mm than the Sigma.

I have tested 5 copies of this lens with one that seemed a tiny bit worse OS-wise but I wasn't absolutely sure as time was limited. I bought two - one for myself and one for my nephew living in Canada. He regularly updates me on the shots he has taken and posts in his online album. He's very happy with it and calls it his "trusty Sigma". A friend of his is so impressed with the lens, he will be buying one this Christmas on his holiday trip over here.

Having read a previous post here, I tried out DXO Optics Pro on my Sigma shots. There is some improvement but not to the point where the original shots would be considered not good or unacceptable. The most obvious improvements so far (as I have only used DXO for about a week) are the reduction of CA, distortion and exposure adjustment between light and shadow. For CA, you would have to inspect the edges of the shot at 100% to really see the difference. I cannot see any difference in colour as yet. Perhaps, I need to explore further. However, DXO is definitely a good piece of software to use with this lens and I will continue to use it.

If one isn't into professional photography but wants convenience, good overall image quality, lots of keepers from shooting in different lighting conditions, particularly on travel (as it has done for me), this is a good lens to have on the camera.

bought this to try to replace my travel lens the EF-S17-85IS , but this is a horrible lens.

I kept my Canon Ef-S17-85IS as my travel and day light lens.

I have EF-S17-55f2.8IS for my work and serious shooting so this lens has no place in my kit.

touristguy87

Registered: July 2007Posts: 36

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by touristguy87

Review Date: 8/22/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $560.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

zoom range, price, weight, size all good

Cons:

not an "L" lens :) I'd recommend this lens MAYBE depending on what you want it for

Ok this is attempt #6 to write a review of this lens. Maybe shorter=better.

First, I have to say that I have gotten a lot of good shots from this lens on a 400d and a 30d, at F8, using DxO. Even at F6.3 shooting 200mm handheld at night, it has surprised me.

Second, I have to say that it has blown what *would* have been a lot of good shots for me, due to bad focus. It is decent in bright daylight, or at night when there are plenty of lights for it to focus on. It needs *bright* subjects (note that this does not equal "brightly-lit subjects"). It shoots ok in high-contrast scenes. If it is overcast or hazy in the evening then it will drive you nuts with focus-misses. But this problem is also partially the 400d, so don't be surprised if you see this with a 400d even if you don't get this lens. If you look at your shots closely.

Still, if you get this lens, be prepared to go through the whole gamut of emotions, from pleasure to laughter to anger to frustration to tears. I would try the new Tamron 18-270VC first. I've shot the 18-250 and the 28-300VC and one very noticeable difference between them and the Nikon and Sigma equivalents is that there is no need to use a lens-correction module to get sharp shots out of them. I expect the same with the new 18-270VC. Also I would just sell the Rebel and get at least the 30D, yes the 30D is much bigger and you will lose a little resolution but you gain a very-usable ISO3200 and the AF system is FAAAARRRRR better (plus you get a real LED display and the battery life is much better too). The 30D makes the 400D look like an overgrown p&s. I shot the Sigma 18-200 DC OS on a 30D and it was almost a different lens, only reason I sold it was to get a D300 and ISO6400 but the Tamron superzooms are really the answer. Besides you can only do so much with ISO6400 on a subframe.

So probably this lens is ok at F8 with some software-correction but it's still short now and I'd have to get it at a real discount. It truly sucks near wide-open, but sharpens-up abruptly at F8, another way in which the Tamrons beat it. But, if you don't need over 300mm effective and you want a cheap, light lens that you won't cry over if it gets scratched or breaks, if you don't mind the noise of the focus-motor...it will take some decent pics at F8 if it gets a good focus. It's not a piece of crap. I wouldn't *avoid* it like I'd avoid the Nikon 18-200VR2.

I think I was one of these first people to order this and have had it lonest since I was in OSaka when I bought it .

I got it on June 1.

Initially linked it , excited about it like the previous guy.

But as I heard so many AF issues and saw people returning it to Siagm in Japan , I realized that there would be something serious there.

The AF issue being so famous among Japanese mags is a very weird problem:
once you use it in MF mode for more than 10 munites , it won't AF until you turn your camera off for a while(my case was longer than 10munites of turing off to re-activate the AF function).

This issue is talked about all the time on line in Japan, and the wide angle AF issue is also described clearly in a Local mag in my city .

These problems happened to me about a week a go and I decided to return it to fund for an EF100 macro.

I think it is an ok lens if you do not have the AF-MF issue , but many people already documenting it clearly and it is so soft lens , especially from 35-105 range , and this issue was discussed at photozone.de forum.

So make sure to read the photozone.de forum first before making any decision.

katzer

Registered: April 2007Posts: 4

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM review by katzer

Review Date: 7/30/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $630.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Range, Superb OS, Sharp stopped down, Contrast & Color, Canon mount

Cons:

Slow lens, Sharpness wide open could be better

There are macro lenses for macro photography
There are ultra wide lenses for landscape photography.
There a portrait lenses. There are fisheye lenses.
Each lens has a specific usage.

This lens is intended for times when you can take only one lens. If you can take 2 lenses and don't mind the weight/switching lenses - go for it.
Most of the times when I am out on a taking pictures trip, I take a bag full of lenses.
I can't do it always. In cases when I have to go lite - this lens fits the bill.
There are compromises: It is a slow lens that benefits from stopping it down a bit. Once it is down 1-2 stops - picture quality is great. Picture is still pretty sharp in the center wide open.
The most impressive feature is the OS.
I get consistently sharp images at 200mm at 1/20sec (!). I have a high keeper rate at even slower shutter speeds. Couple that with extremely useful range, and you get a lens you can literally weld to your camera on vacations.

The only other option for canon mount is the 28-300L which costs four times the price of this one, and to actually get the same range you'd need to get a full frame camera. Since this lens has to compete with the Nikon 18-200VR, the price is actually pretty darn good.

I like this lens a lot. It is a very practical tool which is a joy to use and quite rewarding when reviewing the results. You just need to use it for what it is intended for.